Fall of the Reaper by Miranda Honfleur & Nicolette Andrews

Author:Miranda Honfleur & Nicolette Andrews [Honfleur, Miranda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781949932218
Published: 2019-12-28T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

After Kaspian left her to her solitude once more, Brygida laid her hand on the oak, trying to hear the faintest whisper of the voices of the wood. Just one word, a single flicker of the connection she'd once shared with this land, was all she wanted.

But no matter what she did, their voices remained silent. The wind rustled through the trees. The familiar pathways through the dappled sunlight lay right in front of her. If only she could take a single step forward, or see Mamusia gathering herbs from that patch a few feet away, or Mama hunting rabbits or deer in the brush. Just one glimpse, and she'd be satisfied. It could bolster her until she'd proved herself to Mokosza and could return to her ancestral witchlands once more.

She paced the perimeter of the forest, did everything she could think of to try to reconnect, but the door to home remained shut to her. She clenched her Weles-marked hand.

The raven at its nest cawed and descended to a lower branch, its dark eyes fixed upon her.

She slid down the tree and brought her knees to her chest.

"I will be patient." She had to be. This was her challenge, and the gods moved as They willed.

Footsteps approached from behind. Brygida sprang to her feet and reached for the Scythe of the Mother, which she had rested against the tree. Not that she could use it for anything more than… well, cutting.

Nina stood back, her eyes wide and focused on the scythe. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you! I just saw you sitting here, and I thought I would say hello." Nina took a few steps back, her bright blue dress fluttering in the wind.

Brygida lowered her scythe. "You wanted to say hello to me?" Even after she had killed Dariusz, Nina’s father, along with the others at the Mouth of Weles?

Once, she’d thought she could find a friend in Nina, but after Nina had accused Kaspian of murdering Roksana, it had... strained their blossoming friendship. And when she had been forced to kill Dariusz and the others to save Mamusia, she’d accepted that friendships with villagers wouldn't be possible.

Nina fidgeted with her apron. "It's been a while, and I never got to properly apologize to you for what happened back then..."

Brygida knitted her eyebrows together. What did one say in these sorts of situations? "Oh... well... thank you." Thanks seemed appropriate.

Nina rubbed her arm. "I thought, if you'd like, maybe you could come and have tea with my mother and me? I know she'd like to see you."

Her chest tightened. Would Zofia be angry at her for killing her husband? He’d been a wicked man, but Nina's father and Zofia's husband nonetheless. It happened sometimes that even beneath the worst abuse, people were traumatized by losing the one who hurt them most.

"You don't have to," Nina quickly added, twirling the tip of her blond braid, "but I've seen you wandering around for a while today. You must be hungry and thirsty.

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